Written by: David Kajganich
Starring: Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, André Holland, Chloë Sevigny
Rating: [3/5]
Use of metaphors in film serves a distinct purpose of communicating larger themes via a visual presentation, and while some of these metaphors appear in subtle ways, some are very forward with theirs. Bones and All sits in the latter, where the cannibalism at the center of this story and its parallels to mental health make itself quite clear. Effectively pieced together and well-produced, this film has much to admire but certainly takes its time in making its points.
While at a friend’s sleepover, Maren (Taylor Russell) bites off a finger of one of the girls. This causes her and her father to skip town, as this pattern has repeated itself. As Maren turns 18, her father leaves her to fend for herself, hoping she can overcome her cannibalistic tendencies. This leaves Maren alone trying to figure out where she goes from here as she encounters fellow cannibals.
Everyone has their aversions, material and subject matter that one does not typically care for. Cannibalism is certainly one of those for me personally, as the sight of a human eating another makes my stomach turn. It makes a film like Bones and All, one filled with it, something that already has to fight an uphill battle for me to find enjoyment. However, when it’s a film starring Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, and Mark Rylance and directed by Luca Guadagnino, I was always going to check it out. While there wasn’t exactly enjoyment to be had for me, there’s plenty to appreciate on a narrative level of what this film seeks to communicate in a harrowing manner.
The ties of cannibalism to the mental health disorders individuals must manage prove to be the most stark in what this film seeks to communicate. It’s something Maren feels she must overcome, as that’s how her father has put it; however, this film takes her through quite the journey as she meets others like her. They all vary in strangeness from Lee (Timothée Chalamet) and his moody self to an absolute freak like Sully (Mark Rylance). Quite the spectrum of individuals, but they all teach her valuable lessons on how to view her life through the prism of the cravings they have for human flesh. These moments deliver the emotional potency of the film.
While Bones and All has plenty it wants to communicate to its audience, it does manage to do so well in a very methodically deliberate manner. The pacing of this film, despite some exciting moments sprinkled in, moves quite laboriously. It makes its runtime feel much longer than reality bears, but it does so with an intention. An intention that, I would argue, did not necessarily need so long to completely play out, which does zap some of the enjoyment. However, when we do get those excitable moments, it most definitely leaves its mark.
A handful of moments throughout the movie truly work to unsettle and get under the skin of audiences. From the moments where Maren and Lee are with strange fellow cannibals to everything happening with Sully, this film knows how to jolt its audience with some terrifying sequences. Sully, alone, delivers so much of this, which now provides the runway necessary to talk about the insane performance by Mark Rylance. While I have not watched all of his films, for the most part I have seen Rylance play quiet and sage men such as Bridge of Spies or The Outfit. The character he portrays here is such a terrifying figure that I believe he should become a horror icon like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. The man is that terrifying in this role while also having a sincerity that makes the whole experience quite conflicting.
Not the easiest watch for someone like me, given the sheer number of scenes of character eating others, Bones and All mostly works in communicating its parallels and demonstrating the impact it has on its characters. We certainly see the extreme manner in which this appears across a broad spectrum, but the methodical nature of the film allows us to truly live in this experience with Maren and Lee. A deliberateness with plenty of intention, even if it tested my patience on more than one occasion with its pacing.
